The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-12-02
WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT.
LET THEM VOTE


A Sensible Article 0n Voman's Worth,
Her Work and Abilities.
Women ought TO accomplish the
duty of voting.
1t is an easy thing to teach. an easy
thing to learn sclfshncss, and call it
wOmanliness.
There are plenty to say or to hear
the saying, 1.-The world is Gods, not
thine; let Him work out change, if
change must be-" Take thine ease
under thine own vine and fis-tree.
Let the world rush on its way to sOr-
row. to sin. to shame. What should
such fragile form as thine do to stop
or stay it?
Let gilded bells be opened on all
sides to lure thy sons and thy neigh
bors' sons TO gamble away their earn
ings. the support of a home; to draw
them to arms that will embrace only to
poison, sending them back to innocent
and unconscious arms that will be
poisoned i'm turn; to put to the mouths
of the weak in will, the strong in APP
petite. that which will destroy body
and brain. reason and conscience,
homo and happiness. heart and soul
together. What shOuldst thou know
of such matters? To know is to be
contaminated; keep thy ignorance. or
thy ostensible ignorance, and thy
womanly charm together.
Let government go to wrack, let
commerce and society coEspire to
accomplish evil. let lives be blasted
and hearts be broken and souls be
damned. What are these to thee? Thy
sole duty is as u violet, to smell sweet;
rs IL flute. to sound fine harmonics.
And yet, sir. and yet. madam. God
created this woman, not n flower. not
a flute, but a living soul; rs such to re-
ceive help and to yield help TO all other
living souls; to it intrustcd seed to SOW,
talents to multiply. work to be done.
By-and-by the Lord Of the harvest will
saw to it:
81 gave thee Of my secd to SOW:
Bringest thou me an hundred-fold?
Can she look up with face agiow,
And answer: Father, here is gOld:"
Nay! Rather. she will respond:
'This talent multiplied not. l was
afraid = afraid that multiplication
would bring weights to be carried.
and provoke envies and jealOusies,
fears within and cares without. This
garden and this field l plowed and
planted and vecdod not. The way
was rough and hurt my feet; the sun
was hot and spoiled my beauty. To
be pleasing in mems eyes. to mems
tastes, or mems prejudices. to take my
ease, was more to me than to do the
work of God"
. my sisters. the world is grooming
and Travelling in pain until this day.
crying out Of the darkness wherein it
gropes, out Of the anguish in which it
writhes. for your hands and help and
care! Where, then. are your wOman's
hearts and your woman's conscicnces.
that yOu are silent and still?
Go to the asylums and hospitals. and
make of them homes. Go to the jails,
the prisons. the penitentiaries, and
make Of them refOrmatories and re-
generators. Go to the ignorant. the
rude. the stupid. and see that the light
of intelligence is let into their night of
mental bondage.
Go to the doors through which
men go in men. and come out wild
beasts; the doors that return. for the
money there left poverty, fightings,
dismantled homes, brawls. murders;
that absorb men and money, and in
exchange crowd alms-hOuscs and jails.
and ripen fruit for that CHASTITY tree of
civilization. the gallows Standing
there in behalf of men. of women. of
children. of society, alike outraged,
defied. dishonored, destroyed. say: I'm
the name of the law. and with the
power of the law. l stop this wholesale
poison and butcheiy."
Omen. my brothers, of what are you
afraid? In just such measure as man
does his duty to the world docs he
grow in real manliness. In inst such
measure M woman does her duty to
tho world does she grow in real
wOmanliness.